When I sit back and think of the watches that I aspire to own—unsurprisingly the list is pretty long—my mind tends to always end up in the same spot. And it's not somewhere in the realm of Paul Newman Daytonas, or badass military watches. Nay, the watches that I tend to believe are the "end game" so to speak, come from Patek Philippe, and they really don't look like much. I'm talking about a combination of complications called the perpetual calendar chronograph, which is, of course, the combination of a chronograph (or stop watch function) with a perpetual calendar, or a complex mechanism that keeps track of dates for 200 years at a time including leap year (we've looked at two inexpensive options before here and here. Now relative to the Montblanc and JLC we mentioned, these Pateks will cost you at least five to ten times as much, but in the eyes of many, they are so worth it.

The perpetual calendar chronograph was conceived by Patek back in 1941 with the reference 1518. It was 35mm in diameter and was nothing short of a horological revelation, and with less than 300 watches ever made, the average piece will run you about $300,000 in yellow gold, over a milly in rose gold, and about $5 million in steel—no lie. The watch was followed up ten years later with reference 2499, which is considered by many to be the finest watch ever created, by anyone ever. Seriously. It's 37mm, and has a downright PERFECT look to it. Hell, even Eric Clapton wore one for years. Though, to be specific, his was one of two ever made in platinum and sold for over $3.5 million last year. Less than 300 of these watches were made in its 35 year lifespan, and the average ho-hum example will run you about $400,000.

The 2499's lifespan ended in 1986 when Patek entered the "modern" era with a reference called the 3970. This 36mm perpetual calendar might just be the most defining watch from Patek of the last 25 years, and it is a personal favorite of mine. One reason might just be because it's the only perpetual calendar chronograph from Patek that could be had for under $100,000 (only a late series watch in yellow gold). It was made until the early 2000s in yellow, rose, and white golds, in addition to platinum. Obviously platinum is the most desirable. Then we come to the 5970, a watch that is no stranger to our readers. It's one of John Mayer's favorite watches, and just might be the best investment in watches today. Since I started watching them, they have climbed from about $100,000 for a white gold example, to around $145,000 now—closer to $185,000 for platinum. Then, in 2011, Patek Philippe made the important jump to create their own in-house caliber for the perpetual calendar chronograph with a reference 5270G which is still being made and for sale at around $176,000.

So, why do I bring up this family of watches that the vast majority of humanity will never be able to afford? Because it's always important to know makes a good watch great—and to me, that's a combination of honest design, history, and rarity. These Patek Philippes are the pinnacle of all three categories, and I think the entire industry as a whole could benefit from a closer look at them.